The Center for Social and Demographic Analysis (CSDA) at the University at Albany, SUNY is applying for a continuation of its Population-Research Infrastructure Award for the period 2012-2017. Past awards, in combination with high levels of support from the University, have enabled CSDA to provide an intellectual home to a productive and interdisciplinary group of 47 population researchers, drawn from five Colleges and 11 Departments. A five-year award will allow the Center to: advance its research agenda in population science that bears its signature themes of vulnerable populations and spatial inequalities; foster the intellectual and professional development of its many young researchers; and continue to support and strengthen population-research activities and intellectual community among its associates. The research of CSDA's associates advances population and public health science by addressing critical questions about 1. Health, health disparities and biodemography, 2. Life Course transitions, 3. Immigration and migration, and 4. Spatial demography. Our associates also add to knowledge through their data-collection efforts and methodological innovations. Research in these areas is facilitated by three research infrastructural cores: Administrative, Computer and Data Services, and Developmental Infrastructure. These cores provide cost effective services to CSDA associates that are not available to University at Albany faculty. The proposed infrastructure award will allow us to take full advantage of the University at Albany's plan to hire 170 faculty over the next five years and reorganize our research-support cores to more efficiently serve our associates. In particular, we plan to eliminate the public infrastructure core, moving those contributions that have proven useful to CSDA associates to the other cores and begin developing a comprehensive statistical initiative. CSDA is increasingly characterized by strengths in health and biodemography and a general focus on the wellbeing of children; it has expanded the breadth of faculty to be more interdisciplinary. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: CSDA supports research in population dynamics, focusing on vulnerable populations and spatial inequalities (distinct environmental experiences). In addition to research on immigration and residential segregation, there is increasing emphasis on health and biodemography where early origins of health, disease, growth and development are well represented, as is behavior and cognition in the life course theme.